Cheezey Bites
Slime Knight
Slime:
1. How many diverse options does this character have?
Many. Slime has two series to take inspiration from, the original Dragon Quest and Monsters games give him various magical abilities including breathing fire and ice, casting fire ball spells, lighting up caves and in the Monsters games access to the powerful Mega-Magic. He can also use weapons, or atleast equip them somehow... though admittedly in smash this very meta equipment may not be too usable in a moveset... He also gains the options to Call for Backup, loose his for and become a puddle (Babble Slime) as a duck, turn into a Metal Slime (via magic) and merge with other Slimes to create a slime stack or even massive king slime, all of which are far more iconic.
This gives him options as a weapon user (kinda), magic user, minion user and gives him the ability to change form.
His second major set of skills are more platformer centric, although the games where top down. Slime Mori Mori gives him the ability to pick items and enemies up and stack them on his head (much like in the affore mentioned Slime Stack, but with enemies), and the ability to move with them there. He also gains the Elesto-blast ability, which allows him to stretch out and rocket forwards (thus the Rocket Slime name in english translations). With a number of special items aswell, such as the often included Chimera's Wing, or the tank battles as further abilities he has a lot to call from here as well.
Moreover Slime is likely going to be a culmination of the two different series, and as such could combine any of these distinct options however Sakurai pleases... the number of different playstyles this could create is quite large.
2. Is their moves or abilities diverse from the rest of the Smash cast?
Some moves are, some aren't.
Slime's body shape alone means a lot of his moves have to be unique, because he has no arms or legs to punch or kick with, or even hold the weapons he can apparently equip. His attacks would likely mostly consist of stretching his body into an attack, something which is kind of done with almost everyone thanks to comically sizes hands during punches, but I feel Slime's gelatinous form will make his stretching unique as he can form entirely different shapes, rather than simply emphasizing a feature.
His other major option is tackles, which aren't new in Smash with Wario's shoulder charge, or even Kirby's F-Smash kick being very similar to many of the tackles Slime could use, however Slime's bounciness would allow them different properties more akin to Squirtle's F-smash with him bouncing back after hitting... not entirely unique, but diverse from the majority of the Smash cast.
If he does use a weapon that too would have to be fairly unique given his lack of appendages, maybe using it from his mouth, or holding it inside him and jutting it out as an attack. Some of these moves would likely be somewhat mechanically similar to others (where hit boxes are concerned if the sword comes from the side of the character or inside them is irrelevant), but thematically entirely original.
His elesto-blast will also be unique, at least thematically, however it could be a mechanical clone of Fire Fox... however the bounciness could yet again give it very different properties so it has the potential to be unique, but isn't necessarily. Moreover it would be thematically and sensible for him to be able to fling himself all over the stage multiple times using his elasto-blast... though the same could be said for using the Screw Attack multiple times as Samus...
The grab game could too be unique-ish. Mega-Man and DK can both lift a characterr and move with them, but Slime has been shown to be able to jump and elesto-blast unimpeded by his captor, he also ha the unique ability to carry multiple enemies, though that would likely not get into smash for balance reasons. Playstyle wise this could cause similar strategies to DK and Kirby-cides, which would not be new however. Item holding and stack management could also add a loyer of complexity to the grab game mix.
Calling for back-up would be somewhat unique. While Waddle Dee toss, Luma Summon and Pikmin Pluck all call something to fight alongside the player they are different to the player, where-as call for back-up almost always calls more slimes (though heal-slimes (which would be unique as a healing move) and slime knights have also been known to answer the call) which would act more similarly to Slime, more akin to Popo and Nana but likely without controlling both characters. Moreover Slime would be able to call atleast 2 Slime to his beck and call as that's the canonical number in a Slime stack, making it different to the others.
Merging with his friends is something brand new, and potentially very exciting. By becoming a slime stack Slime would increases his weight (by theory double or triple, though as that would make him able to span lightest to heaviest character with room to spare I doubt it will be), reach and hit-box size... and probably slow him down for balance reasons. This transformation is unlike others, and the potential to throw Slimes off the stack for a projectile would give a risk reward element to his projectile game that is somewhat similar to Olimar thematically, but changes him in a very different (far more notable) way.
Turning to metal would also be unique as a move, but not as a concept thanks to the Metal Box item, so I'll null that out.
Even his run would be unique! Seriously, he hops to move quickly! No other smash character does that, and it would effectively increase his hit box as he bounces... His duck would likely also be unique becoming a puddle, both thematically and in terms of how it would diminish his hitbox size. He could reasonably crawl like that to avoid almost any attack, and potentially even cause tripping by slipping under someone feet, though that's a push. His down tilt as such would likely be a poison attack from the Babble slime, which not unique as an element, but is unique in mechanics... although Ivysaur should have a poison powder move which would do the same, and Wario Waft could be fitted with the same poisoning ability.
The other options are not unique, breathing fire or casting fireball etc... however these are actually the less iconic options, so I think in all he's very different abilities-wise to the others
3. Has the concept of the character been done before?
A slime? no.
A mook enemy as a playable character? nope.
A summoner character? yes, though I've explained how he's very different to the others... he'd be most like DeDeDe a the Slimes would act on their own and are mook enemies... but he'd still unique due to both mechanical and thematic (he's calling for help, not ordering/throwing an attack) differences.
A merging character? no, infact I'm not sure it's been done like this is any fighting game ever.
An aerial character rocketing across the stage? kinda, but it's more been multi-jumps than constantly rocketing backwards and forwards as slime would.
4. Does the character's abilities and moves provide enough to be entertaining?
His playstyle may be a little tedious if it ends up being too much focus on calling for backup and then rocketing away, but he certainly has enough options to be very fun to play, and an extremely dynamic battle with NPC Slimes being knocked around everywhere and even the PC slime rocketing across the sky. His wacky animations would also make him look really entertaining with him stretching out every which way.
5. How visually different is the character in terms of body shape and looks?
About as much as you can get! He's a blob of slime, nothing in smash comes close to that! He would be vaugely ball shaped like Kirby and Jiggles, and has similar big eyes and a smile but his lack of arms or legs makes him very different, his distinct head nipple, and his mouth shape all make him very different. His animations too would have to be completely different to anything in smash apart from maybe a sub-space enemy I've forgotten about...
He still however looks totally reasonable alongside Mario in Fortune street, so he's not too out there to fit in imho.
6. Does it fit the character well enough?
The most interesting a unique abilities do fit Slime's character, and are iconic abilities to him. The combination for rocketing and stacking with calling for back-up and merging is a good balance of both series and would be reasonable within bother universes. It also make him a fairly weak character individually who becomes powerful by attacking as a group, something thematically fitting for a mook enemy, but particularly slime. Blasting away all the back-up Slimes is also thematically apt give the amount of grinding that's needed in most DQ games, and fits both his series, and slime as he's often your first grinding enemy.
Verdict: S+
It would be difficult to create a move set for him that looks remotely like any other characters, heck it's hard to make moves for him that are like any other characters. His play style and abilities are all his own, and most of his abilities couldn't even be done by any other vaguely realistic newcomer. It would be possible to make a special moveset of cloned moves, but even then they'd make an entirely new play style... He completely defies convention, and brings some potentially very unique mechanics with him. He is in my opinion the most unique potential newcomer, though I admit to probably being slightly biased... I did try to be as neutral as possible, and explain why things would be unique though...
1. How many diverse options does this character have?
Many. Slime has two series to take inspiration from, the original Dragon Quest and Monsters games give him various magical abilities including breathing fire and ice, casting fire ball spells, lighting up caves and in the Monsters games access to the powerful Mega-Magic. He can also use weapons, or atleast equip them somehow... though admittedly in smash this very meta equipment may not be too usable in a moveset... He also gains the options to Call for Backup, loose his for and become a puddle (Babble Slime) as a duck, turn into a Metal Slime (via magic) and merge with other Slimes to create a slime stack or even massive king slime, all of which are far more iconic.
This gives him options as a weapon user (kinda), magic user, minion user and gives him the ability to change form.
His second major set of skills are more platformer centric, although the games where top down. Slime Mori Mori gives him the ability to pick items and enemies up and stack them on his head (much like in the affore mentioned Slime Stack, but with enemies), and the ability to move with them there. He also gains the Elesto-blast ability, which allows him to stretch out and rocket forwards (thus the Rocket Slime name in english translations). With a number of special items aswell, such as the often included Chimera's Wing, or the tank battles as further abilities he has a lot to call from here as well.
Moreover Slime is likely going to be a culmination of the two different series, and as such could combine any of these distinct options however Sakurai pleases... the number of different playstyles this could create is quite large.
2. Is their moves or abilities diverse from the rest of the Smash cast?
Some moves are, some aren't.
Slime's body shape alone means a lot of his moves have to be unique, because he has no arms or legs to punch or kick with, or even hold the weapons he can apparently equip. His attacks would likely mostly consist of stretching his body into an attack, something which is kind of done with almost everyone thanks to comically sizes hands during punches, but I feel Slime's gelatinous form will make his stretching unique as he can form entirely different shapes, rather than simply emphasizing a feature.
His other major option is tackles, which aren't new in Smash with Wario's shoulder charge, or even Kirby's F-Smash kick being very similar to many of the tackles Slime could use, however Slime's bounciness would allow them different properties more akin to Squirtle's F-smash with him bouncing back after hitting... not entirely unique, but diverse from the majority of the Smash cast.
If he does use a weapon that too would have to be fairly unique given his lack of appendages, maybe using it from his mouth, or holding it inside him and jutting it out as an attack. Some of these moves would likely be somewhat mechanically similar to others (where hit boxes are concerned if the sword comes from the side of the character or inside them is irrelevant), but thematically entirely original.
His elesto-blast will also be unique, at least thematically, however it could be a mechanical clone of Fire Fox... however the bounciness could yet again give it very different properties so it has the potential to be unique, but isn't necessarily. Moreover it would be thematically and sensible for him to be able to fling himself all over the stage multiple times using his elasto-blast... though the same could be said for using the Screw Attack multiple times as Samus...
The grab game could too be unique-ish. Mega-Man and DK can both lift a characterr and move with them, but Slime has been shown to be able to jump and elesto-blast unimpeded by his captor, he also ha the unique ability to carry multiple enemies, though that would likely not get into smash for balance reasons. Playstyle wise this could cause similar strategies to DK and Kirby-cides, which would not be new however. Item holding and stack management could also add a loyer of complexity to the grab game mix.
Calling for back-up would be somewhat unique. While Waddle Dee toss, Luma Summon and Pikmin Pluck all call something to fight alongside the player they are different to the player, where-as call for back-up almost always calls more slimes (though heal-slimes (which would be unique as a healing move) and slime knights have also been known to answer the call) which would act more similarly to Slime, more akin to Popo and Nana but likely without controlling both characters. Moreover Slime would be able to call atleast 2 Slime to his beck and call as that's the canonical number in a Slime stack, making it different to the others.
Merging with his friends is something brand new, and potentially very exciting. By becoming a slime stack Slime would increases his weight (by theory double or triple, though as that would make him able to span lightest to heaviest character with room to spare I doubt it will be), reach and hit-box size... and probably slow him down for balance reasons. This transformation is unlike others, and the potential to throw Slimes off the stack for a projectile would give a risk reward element to his projectile game that is somewhat similar to Olimar thematically, but changes him in a very different (far more notable) way.
Turning to metal would also be unique as a move, but not as a concept thanks to the Metal Box item, so I'll null that out.
Even his run would be unique! Seriously, he hops to move quickly! No other smash character does that, and it would effectively increase his hit box as he bounces... His duck would likely also be unique becoming a puddle, both thematically and in terms of how it would diminish his hitbox size. He could reasonably crawl like that to avoid almost any attack, and potentially even cause tripping by slipping under someone feet, though that's a push. His down tilt as such would likely be a poison attack from the Babble slime, which not unique as an element, but is unique in mechanics... although Ivysaur should have a poison powder move which would do the same, and Wario Waft could be fitted with the same poisoning ability.
The other options are not unique, breathing fire or casting fireball etc... however these are actually the less iconic options, so I think in all he's very different abilities-wise to the others
3. Has the concept of the character been done before?
A slime? no.
A mook enemy as a playable character? nope.
A summoner character? yes, though I've explained how he's very different to the others... he'd be most like DeDeDe a the Slimes would act on their own and are mook enemies... but he'd still unique due to both mechanical and thematic (he's calling for help, not ordering/throwing an attack) differences.
A merging character? no, infact I'm not sure it's been done like this is any fighting game ever.
An aerial character rocketing across the stage? kinda, but it's more been multi-jumps than constantly rocketing backwards and forwards as slime would.
4. Does the character's abilities and moves provide enough to be entertaining?
His playstyle may be a little tedious if it ends up being too much focus on calling for backup and then rocketing away, but he certainly has enough options to be very fun to play, and an extremely dynamic battle with NPC Slimes being knocked around everywhere and even the PC slime rocketing across the sky. His wacky animations would also make him look really entertaining with him stretching out every which way.
5. How visually different is the character in terms of body shape and looks?
About as much as you can get! He's a blob of slime, nothing in smash comes close to that! He would be vaugely ball shaped like Kirby and Jiggles, and has similar big eyes and a smile but his lack of arms or legs makes him very different, his distinct head nipple, and his mouth shape all make him very different. His animations too would have to be completely different to anything in smash apart from maybe a sub-space enemy I've forgotten about...
He still however looks totally reasonable alongside Mario in Fortune street, so he's not too out there to fit in imho.
6. Does it fit the character well enough?
The most interesting a unique abilities do fit Slime's character, and are iconic abilities to him. The combination for rocketing and stacking with calling for back-up and merging is a good balance of both series and would be reasonable within bother universes. It also make him a fairly weak character individually who becomes powerful by attacking as a group, something thematically fitting for a mook enemy, but particularly slime. Blasting away all the back-up Slimes is also thematically apt give the amount of grinding that's needed in most DQ games, and fits both his series, and slime as he's often your first grinding enemy.
Verdict: S+
It would be difficult to create a move set for him that looks remotely like any other characters, heck it's hard to make moves for him that are like any other characters. His play style and abilities are all his own, and most of his abilities couldn't even be done by any other vaguely realistic newcomer. It would be possible to make a special moveset of cloned moves, but even then they'd make an entirely new play style... He completely defies convention, and brings some potentially very unique mechanics with him. He is in my opinion the most unique potential newcomer, though I admit to probably being slightly biased... I did try to be as neutral as possible, and explain why things would be unique though...
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